Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 458 The Unspeakable Concealment of He Zhongtang
When Deng Fei and his party left Chaoyin Temple and boarded a speedboat and drove out of Dagukou, Jiang Fan's underwear was already soaked, and he murmured with lingering fear: "It's dangerous!"

Deng Fei noticed that Zhao Xin beside him was lost in thought, so he asked loudly, "What did He Shen say just now?"

"He knows who I am now." The motor of the speedboat was too loud, and Zhao Xin could only shout loudly, and now even Chen Jishan and Jiang Fan beside him heard it.

"Ah?!" The two looked astonished, only Jiang Fan nodded heavily.

Zhao Xin thought about it and couldn't figure it out, since he had never met He Shen, how could he recognize him at a glance?Could it be Liu Yong?No, it was obvious that He Shen recognized him first, and Liu Yong realized it.

Liu Quan?Horse 83?possible.

At this time in Chaoyin Temple, Liu Yong blocked He Shen with a face of anger, and when everyone else had gone out, only Fu Chang'an with a confused face remained, he asked: "He Zhongtang, why didn't you order the guards outside to capture him?" That dog?"

He Shen smiled faintly: "Brother Chongru, have you forgotten that night in Guangzhou two years ago?"

Liu Yong said: "So what?! If I risk my life, I will bite off a piece of Zhao Ni's body!"

"Haha!" He Shen shook his head and said, "He won't die if he loses a piece of meat."

Fu Chang'an already understood what was going on at this time, he was dumbfounded and said: "Mr. Zhi Zhai, you mean that the guard at the door just now wearing a braid is Zhao Ni himself?! Isn't this thief too courageous?"

"Be quiet!" He Shen glared at Fu Chang'an, then smiled at Liu Yong and said, "Brother Chongru, Beihai Town's system is different from that of the imperial court. Although Zhao Ni is the leader of the rebel bandits, each of them performs his duties internally. Each is in charge of one's own affairs without interfering with each other.

Don't forget, that Liu Sheng didn't come this time.This person has a hot temper, and he uses soldiers like tigers to drive wolves away.I heard that this person is leading troops to deal with the Rakshasa army in Irkutsk.Even if Zhao Ni is killed by you and me, who can guarantee that he will not take over?Furthermore, today's surnamed Deng, who hides needles in the cotton and works with scheming, is not a good person to be with.If something happened to Zhao Ni, and finally attracted a large-scale landing in Beihai Town, and the society was in turmoil, you and I will be sinners through the ages! "

"Ah!" Liu Yong stomped his feet and sighed, knowing that what He Shen said was not unreasonable.But such a good opportunity was missed, he was really unwilling.At the beginning, Zhao Xin used Zhu Xi's words to criticize Huai, which tore open the pain in Liu Yong's heart, and made him hate him to the core.

He Shen cupped his hands towards the west and said, "I will report this matter to the emperor, I think the emperor will understand me."

It is said that after the first contact, the British became more and more curious about Beihai Town.No matter which one of the three ships in the distance, they are all salivating, trying to figure out the mystery.

After Staunton and Nelson returned from the Thunderbolt, they told Macartney, John Jervis and others in detail what they had seen and heard on the ship.When they heard that Thunderbolt was made of steel inside and out, all the British were surprised and speechless.

"Their guns are weird. Although they are covered with tarps, I can see that the barrels are about 15.5 feet to 16.5 feet long. However, their barrels seem to be small in diameter, only about 5 to 6 feet in outer diameter. About [-] inches."

"Thirty times the diameter?!" John Jervis waited for his subordinates to finish the calculation on paper, and then took a deep breath.

Among the active artillery of the British army, the 68-pound Carron gun has 9 times the diameter, and the maximum range is 1377 yards, which is 1260 meters.Only the early coastal defense long-barreled guns can reach 30 times the diameter, while the current long-barreled guns of European countries are all about 26 times.

"The caliber is about the same as that of coastal defense guns, but how can they hit so far?"

Nelson regretted: "I can't see it."

"I have to find a way to look again. These guys who call themselves Chinese are really weird. They don't have braids, don't wear Chinese-style robes, and have such mysterious technology. They are completely like people from two worlds from the Qing Empire."

Macartney thought for a while and said: "Don't worry, wait until the envoys of the Qing Empire meet with them. We can start contacts in the name of helping them find out the enemy's situation."

So, on the afternoon after the meeting between the Beihai Navy and the Qing court, the British drove a small boat and wobbled to visit the Jinglei.Of course, as the "Messenger of Peace", Stanton Jr. accompanied him again.

The kid also couldn't forget the sweets and desserts he ate that day in the Thunder's dining room, his beautiful sister and the big orange cat.When I heard that I was going to the big iron boat, I immediately cheered.

Naturally, the movement of the British could not be hidden from the Qing side. Qiao Renjie immediately reported it to He Shen when he found out about it, but He Zhongtang decided to turn a blind eye when he heard about it.

Compared with other officials in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, He Shen, who has been in charge of the income of the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Internal Affairs for many years, can see clearly that the English people are foreigners. On the one hand, they admire Wang Hua, and their real purpose is to expand trade with the Qing Dynasty. .

He Shen is very much in favor of the expansion of maritime trade.Even though he doesn't know how much he has been greedy, the court's income and expenditure accounts are clear.

At present, the annual revenue of the Qing court is 300 million taels, which has dropped by 20 million compared to 500 years ago.This is mainly because of the frequent occurrence of natural disasters in the past 20 years, and Qianlong continued to save money and food from the disaster-stricken areas.However, it will cost a lot to restore the economy in the disaster-stricken areas. There are also disaster relief, river dredging, and seed distribution, all of which are not small sums of money.

However, due to the policy of "emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business", the development of industry and commerce is restricted, and there are only two ports of foreign trade, Guangzhou and Kyakta; the trade in Kyakta has stopped in recent years.

Therefore, the fiscal revenue of the Manchu Qing could only be dominated by land tax.However, "never adding taxes", "spreading the land into acres", and the reclamation of wasteland in the pass have made the collection of land taxes a fixed amount, which is only so much money every year.

In the past two years, the imperial court has used troops everywhere, outside the customs, in the northwest, in Taiwan, in southern Annan, and in southern Tibet, there have been frequent wars and financial constraints.Due to the ancestral system of "the country has access to scriptures and expenditures are controlled", whenever Qianlong needed money, He Shen had to find a way from other places.Chongwenmen Tax Customs, Salt Merchant, Thirteen Banks, Copper Mine, Yicrime Silver, that is, these.

So a few years ago when he heard that Zhao Xin sent people to dig gold mines on Solenji Island, He Shen wished he could send troops to take it back.This is also an important reason why he strongly endorsed the imperial court's purchase of sail gunboats and encouraged Qianlong to agree.

In addition, even He Shen didn't realize that the rise in prices and inflation during the Qianlong period were also important factors for financial constraints.

The officials of the Qing court only focused on the price of grain, and they were most concerned about not having enough to eat. However, once the price of grain stabilized, they believed that the weather would be good and the country peaceful and the people safe.

In fact, during the entire Qianlong period, China's population grew too fast, there was too much currency in circulation in the market (inflation), and the national grain storage was sufficient, which made the price increase year by year, and the burden of life for ordinary people became heavier.

The massive inflow of silver has brought about tremendous changes in the relationship between China's money and money.At the same time as the influx of silver, the amount of money made by the Qing government in the field of circulation also increased significantly; the increase in the amount of silver and money made made the phenomenon of "money cheap and goods expensive" continue, which had an extremely far-reaching impact on the common people. of.

Historically, starting from the Jiaqing period, Westerners used opium to make a large amount of silver outflow.Although there was less money, the prices did not drop, and the taxes and levies collected by the government did not drop.Coupled with continuous wars and famines, people's livelihoods are in decline, finances are austere, and there is not enough money to spend.

And this is the truth of the rapid decline after the glitz of the "Qianlong Prosperity".

The second reason why He Shen turns a blind eye to the behavior of the British is that he has an unspeakable illness and wants to seek help from the British; he has tried all the doctors and medicines that Chinese medicine can see, but there has been no cure.That is venereal disease, which is commonly known as "Yangmei sore".

Except for Liu Yong and Wang Jie, who are famous Confucian officials with strict governance, other officials, let alone He Shen, don't have too many "Yangmei sores"; for example, Qiao Daotai.

The biggest problem with this thing is contamination. In this day and age, only those who like "boudoir joy" and brothels can't escape it.

So He Shen gave Qiao Renjie a task. While in contact with the British, he quietly inquired to see if there was any good medicine to cure this disease.When Qiao Renjie heard that it was exactly what he wanted, he also had this unspeakable secret.

However, after hearing Qiao Renjie's request, Macartney fell into a daze: "I'm really sorry, we don't have such medicine."

This year Europe is at the end of the "Era of Court Fornication". Noble men and women can't trust each other if they don't have sex with each other!The promiscuous aristocratic life and the dirty living environment have made Europeans regard "flower and willow disease" as common for a long time, and they can do whatever they want!
In the famous satirical novel "Gulliver's Travels", which was first published in 1726, it was mentioned: "Various varieties of willow syphilis have completely changed the face of the English people, making them small in stature and nervous. Slack, loose muscles, sallow complexion, foul smell of fat."

Not to mention the fashion for young women to look beautiful when they have tuberculosis and turn pale.

Why don't you, Mr. Qiao, try to put some blood on it?This is the most effective therapy!One cup is not enough, two cups are just right.

Qiao Renjie shrank back in fright when he heard it, and hurriedly thanked Bumin, and then explained what it means to be "body, hair and skin, received by parents, not daring to hurt, this is the beginning of filial piety."

However, things in the world are so coincidental.On the third day after the negotiation ended, Macartney also boarded the Thunder, bringing even more people and more gifts.

Among them are astronomical instruments, monocular telescopes, globes, clocks, music boxes, woolen tapestries and carpets, exquisite saddles, and even Mausers, hunting air rifles, one-handed swords, and a cannon with 110 warship model.

In return, Zhao Xin took out a windproof lighter, a simple calculator using button batteries, a compass, a quartz watch, cigarettes, candy, several boxes of wine, instant coffee, and a military knife produced in Beihai Town.These things amazed Macartney and others, and they were deeply shocked by the industrial capabilities of Beihai Town.

The people in Beihai Town ignored Britain's request to visit the power and cockpit of Thunderbolt.Every time they boarded the ship, apart from the meeting room and the dining room, the only exception was to visit Deng Fei's captain's dormitory, which had been cleaned up in advance.

Whether it was Nelson, Sir Jervis or other officers, when they pretended to go to the deck to breathe, they found that both the machine guns and cannons on the side of the ship were tightly covered.

By this time, the British had understood that the secret of acquiring weapons and mechanical power was pure dreaming.Moreover, Zhao Xin does not plan to buy any sailing boats from the British. His next plan is to eliminate sailing boats and build "flying shear boats", which are specially used for transporting goods and personnel exchanges.

Even so, the British still saw a lot of tricks from the Thunderbolt.For example, the bulbous bow exposed to the water, in addition to saving fuel in later generations, the biggest role of this thing is to improve the wave-making resistance from horizontal and oblique waves; another example is the hoist and crane on the deck.

Both Zhao Xin and Deng Fei understood that many things cannot be concealed, unless people are not allowed to approach or board the boat.It's just that it's hard to say how much technological progress these things can bring to the British.

When it came to the dinner party, Macartney and his party enjoyed the combination of Chinese and Western food provided by the restaurant, while drinking the fine wine provided on board.Zhao Xin also took out whiskey and brandy for the sake of cliche, which made the British overjoyed.

So when Macartney was drunk, he couldn't help but tell everyone that Qiao Renjie was looking for him as a joke.

After hearing this, Zhao Xin laughed, and called Deng Fei out to whisper a few words in his spare time.After Deng Fei came back, he said to Macartney: "Your Excellency, you can let him come to me. I have this medicine."

"What?!" The British people present were all stunned, and several of them suddenly had the appearance of seeing God.
So after Macartney went back with the big and small bags of gifts, he asked Qiao Daotai to come over tomorrow, saying that he had good news to tell him.

After Qiao Renjie met Macartney full of hope, the first thing he asked was, Mr. Qiao, when can we go ashore?Even the enemies of your imperial court can go ashore to negotiate. Those of us who traveled thousands of miles to help the navy of the Qing Empire have been at sea for two months.

"Don't worry, Your Excellency, maybe there will be news in a few days. I have already reported your request to He Zhongtang before, and he also reported to the emperor. Please be calm and don't be impatient."

Well, Macartney shrugged helplessly, and told Qiao Renjie the news he got on the Thunderbolt.

Qiao Renjie did not show joy after hearing this, but asked with doubts: "Is this true?"

Macartney said: "To be honest, several of our people suffer from the same disease. The other party said that they can be treated together, but the dose of the drug used can only be determined after an examination, so the patient must go to the Big Railway in person. Inspection on board."

Qiao Renjie was silent for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "At this time, let the officer go back and think about it."

Macartney persuaded: "Master Qiao, that Lord Deng said that they have to leave after the negotiation agreement is signed. I think time is running out, isn't it?"

After half a day, He Shen, who lives in Haiguang Temple, knew about it.You have to go there in person, and you need to check on the spot to determine the dosage of the medicine.

This is troublesome, if he is like Qiao Renjie, he can just go there secretly.But now that he is a bachelor, minister of military aircraft and negotiator, how can he go to the enemy ship? !
After thinking for a while, He Shen asked Qiao Renjie to go out and wait for a while, then called Liu Quan into the room, and they closed the door and began to mutter.

After listening for a while, Liu Quan said in astonishment: "Master, a slave is not a doctor."

"Stupid!" He Shen scolded: "I will write the disease on paper later, and you will burn it when you memorize it. Then you say that I sent you back to Beijing for business. As for you, just take a detour to the university. Go find Qiao Hansan in Gukou, and take the boat with him tomorrow. Remember, if you don’t understand anything, you can ask Zhao Xin. After all, I have done business with him for several years, so I have to give me some face.”

"Okay! Master, don't worry, the servant will remember."

Liu Quan raised his foot and was about to go out, but He Shen called him back again, and said: "You can also ask the surnamed Zhao about one more thing, [-]% of the ginseng outside the pass has fallen into his territory, now inside the pass Ginseng is so expensive that even the House of Internal Affairs doesn’t have much in stock, let’s see if we can share it with us, and you can negotiate the price.”

(End of this chapter)